PCC responds to landmark victims’ survey exposing the failures of criminal justice system

Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen is demanding stronger action to rebuild confidence in policing and the justice system following a damning new victims’ survey.

The survey, conducted by Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, Baroness Newlove, is the largest ever undertaken by the Commissioner and is based on the powerful testimonies of more than 6,500 victims nationally.

It presents a dire insight into the journey to justice for victims of crime, with respondents reporting a series of systematic issues undermining trust including poor communication, extensive delays, failure to deliver statutory rights and feelings of isolation,powerlessness and lack of confidence.

The survey reveals less than half of all victims (42%) believe they can get justice and just 51% believe in its fairness while only 46% are confident in its effectiveness.

In other worrying findings, victims report being denied a voice at critical stages of their case with some even refused the opportunity to read their Victim Personal Statement in court.

Concerningly, 41% of rape and sexual assault victims and 36% of hate crime victims chose not to report the incident,with stark disparity across different ethnic groups, with lack of confidence a clear barrier to reporting.

County Durham and Darlington Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen is at the forefront of national and local efforts to improve the justice journey for victims of crime.

The PCC has vowed to work with Chief Constable Rachel Bacon to deliver a first-class service to victims of crime in her Police, Crime and Justice Plan, placing their needs and voice ‘first and foremost’ in the justice system.  

In determined action to improve the response to victims of crime, the Commissioner has pledged to ensure all police and commissioned services adhere to the Victims’ Code, ensure relevant agencies have suitable training to meet their code obligations and to implement a robust monitoring mechanism to improve the delivery of the Victims’ Code rights.

In other commitments, the Commissioner has promised to introduce trauma-informed approaches to policing, ensure the lived experiences of victims inform improvements to criminal justice processes,and make better use of protective measures to keep vulnerable victims safe.

Responding to the Victims’ Survey,Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen said: “This survey is an appallingindictment of the ongoing failures of our criminal justice system to protect and support people the very people it was designed for.

“Some of the comments contained in this report are both harrowing and heartbreaking to read. They tell the story of victims of unimaginable horrors and trauma, let down, abandoned and failed at a time when they are at their lowest ebb and need help most. This is both inhumane and completely unacceptable.  

“If we cannot even get the basics right,how can we possibly expect victims to support the duration of the investigative and court process or convince future victims to come forward?

“While there is a great deal of effort and innovation going on in individual force areas, we are an awful long way from uniformity – high-quality victim care is still a postcode lottery.

“This report highlights the absolute necessity of a new courts and tribunals inspectorate – something I have long fought hard for – placing the judicial system under unparallelled scrutiny to hold up a mirror to its failings so that drastic reparative action can betaken.”

Alongside spearheading research locally to understand the barriers to justice experienced by victims, and the profound stress and strain they endure through justice delays, the PCC has implemented groundbreaking solutions to empower victims and give them a stronger voice.  

The PCC introduced the roll out of Victim Impact Statements which means that any policy under development from her office or the force must now be assessed for its impact on victims – just as checks also occur against the Equality Act. She is now lobbying hard for the adoption of Victim Impact Assessments by the MoJ and all CJ agencies before policies, processes and practices are signed off to give victims of crime greater consideration in the drafting of new legislation and guidance.

In further policy changes, the PCC has introduced Root Cause Analysis (RCA) meetings, bringing together senior figures from within criminal justice agencies across the force area to consider a particular case through the lens of the Victims’ Voice Account given by the victim to the Commissioner’s Victims’ Champion.

The meeting scrutinises the investigation, prosecution and court processes to understand what happened,what should or could have happened and why.

And in other progress, she was the first PCC in England and Wales to appoint three Victim Champions to elevate the voice of victims of crime and evaluate and learn from their experiences through the justice journey. This continues to shape both commissioning activities and policy.  

You can read the report here:  https://victimscommissioner.org.uk/document/annual-victims-survey-2024/

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